Budgeting For Your Vacation

By Lisa Xing
[Personal Finances]
Planning a vacation to a new place can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to money matters.  Lisa Xing helps you through the steps of properly budgeting for one.
Budgeting for your vacation may seem like a tedious process and it really often is, especially if you are constrained by finances.  However, tedious doesn’t have to be painful!  There are certain measures you can take and a lot of pre-planning before your actual vacation that will make your trip go a lot more smoothly.  I recently went on a vacation to California without budgeting and I was worse for it, that’s for sure.  I ended up spending at least $300 more than I expected to—that’s $300 more than I could afford!  From that trip, I learned some very important lessons and vowed never again to subscribe to financial ignorance on vacation.

Set Your Budget

Before you even think about leaving on your trip, the essential thing to do is to set your budget.  This means figuring out just how much you can afford to spend over the course of your trip.  Don’t rely on using your credit card or else you run the risk of over-spending and not being able to pay it off afterwards.  This doesn’t mean the figure you come up with can’t be flexible.  Having a budget in mind just gives you a better idea of how to allocate your funds towards certain aspects of your trip.  This, in turn, will help you have a less worrisome or stressful vacation.

Don’t Forget The Little Expenses

After coming up with your total figure, it’s important to come up with amounts you foresee yourself spending on different parts of your trip, like accommodations and food.  However, don’t forget to factor in the miscellaneous and little expenditures, because those can certainly add up, even if your vacation is only for a week.  Don’t forget things like tips on meals, valet and other services, transportation to and from the airport or even bus or metro money if you plan on using public transportation once you get to your destination.
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